Nederland: kerken en kloosters

The Basiliek van Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van het Heilig Hart (Basilica of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) is built in neogothic style, which is quite rare in the Dutch province of Limburg. Its architect was J. Kayser, a pupil of the well known Dutch architect P.J.H. Cuypers. The first stone was laid on 2 June 1875, a marble stone which came from the catacombs of the Holy Callixtus and was sent by Pope Pius IX. The building was completed in 1877 and consecrated on 5 July 1879 by the bishop of Roermond. The basilica was the first Dutch church - in 1883 - to be bestowed the ecclesiastical distinction of basilica. Following on from the 'great' basilicas in Rome and Assisi, by the end of the 19th century the Church was also extending the title of basilica minor (small basilica) to churches of distinctive importance and aesthetic value. The charter granting the title of basilica was signed by Pope Leo XIII on 6 May 1883. The interior of the basilica is particularly richly decorated. The high vaults of the nave and the presence of the two galleries muffle the light, so that the church is rather dark, almost mysterious. The choir and the altar are lit by the windows of the tower. The most special feature of the basilica in Sittard are the more than 1.400 votive stones that have been donated. Texts on these stones ask Our Lady of the Sacred Heart for favours. These stones give the church a very colourful and eye-catching character.

The Reformed Chucrh in Slochteren - located on a raised cemetery - exists of remnants of a13th century Romanesque-Gothic cross-naved church; the transept of the original church has been preserved. This part of that building has been considerably rebuilt in the 18th and 19th century; especially after a fire in 1880, where only the outside walls were spared. Only a rather small hall church remained. The impressive - nowadays free standing - tower (PiP) is the only part that has been preserved from the original 13th century church. It has a gable roof and has a church bell from 1373, which was made for a monastery. The church bell was bought in 1829.

Het Stift - a unique place in Twente - is an age-old protected townscape nearby Weerselo. It is over 800 years since a community was founded here by ‘Hugo van Buren’. The commune was transformed into a Benedictine double monastery that housed both monks and nuns in 1152. A century later, the last monks left Weerselo, but the unmarried ladies of nobility remained. The central building at Het Stift is without any doubt the Stiftskerk . Not only because of its size, age and religious significance, but also because it has functioned actively throughout all the centuries: in the Middle Ages as a monastery and parish church, then as Stiftskerk of the Reformed congregation. In the latter capacity, it still functions today. Despite its use as part of a monastery and stift inhabited by nobility, the church is small and consists of one aisle only. It is probable that the walls of irregular pieces of natural stone are from the 14th century. Originally, the church was one trave longer. In 1523 a fire destroyed the church, and when it was repaired the nave was shortened and given a new front. The buttresses, the vaults and the upper parts of the wall date from this period as well. Today, the Stiftskerk is used for weddings, concerts, funerals and church services.

In 1464 Jacobus Wilthingh donated his rural estate ‘Apell’ to the Order of the Holy Cross. The construction of the monastery took almost hundred years (1465 - 1561). After the reformation in the Netherlands the latest prior of the monastery of the Holy Cross Brothers became in 1594 the first Protestant clergyman. After the year of 1600 the monastery underwent many changes and some parts were demolished, but a large part of the original buildings remained. Between 1930 and 1933 the remaining parts were preserved and restored by the city of Groningen. Since 1992 it is one of ‘the top 100 Unesco monumental buildings’ in the Netherlands. It houses nowadays a museum of religious art and the history of the monastery. Monastery Ter Apel or as it is called officially: Monastery Domus Novae Lucis (Home of the New Light) has a beautiful setting in the woodlands around the village of Ter Apel. .

The little white Reformed Church of Den Hoorn, built in 1425, is the most photographed church of Texel. The church became its tower 25 years later, which functioned moreover, as a beacon for the shipping traffic. Even nowadays there is signal at the tower of the church.

Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk (Our Lady Church) dating back to the 13th century, when it was founded as a catholic church. In the year of 1577 it was confiscated by the protestants and remained a reformed church till nowadays. Photo: interior of the church with the former choir.

The Grote of Sint-Gertrudiskerk (Great or Saint Gertrudis Church) is a huge late Gothic hall church, which is quite unusual for this part of the Netherlands. The late church was built at the end of the 15th century (1480) by adding a choir to its single-nave predecessor. Shortly afterwards a transept was also built. Around 1515, work began on replacing the old one-aisled cruciform with the present three-aisled hall church. Due to a war, work was only restarted in 1523. The nave was never completed and in 1615 was closed by a wooden wall - which remained until the restoration of 1939/1951 - leaving the still unfinished tower standing at some distance in front of the church. In 1613 a crown with an onion-shaped dome was added to the tower. The Grote of Sint-Gertrudiskerk I still used for services by the Protestant church of Workum. .

The Sint-Michaëlskerk or Abdijkerk (St. Michael's Church or Abbey Church) is a church building in Thorn (known as 'the white village' for its white-washed brick houses in the centre of town.). The history of Thorn - which starts at the end of the 10th century - is closely connected with that of a convent, which was founded around 975 as a noble Benedictine monastery by Count Ansfried van Teisterband and his wife Hilsonmdis. This convent evolved into a more secular foundation for ladies of high nobility, known as a “Stift”. Later it became the nucleus of the small principality of Thorn. The church was largely built in the 14th century and replaced an older structure. Laterr this Romanesque building was almost completely replaced by a Gothic house of worship. By the end of the 18th century a radical change to the abbey’s church interior is instigated: walls were painted white, a new marble floor was laid and the pillars were given new stuccoed capitals. The church received its current baroque interior. In 1785 the current high altar was re-installed – coming from a suppressed Roermond Carthusian monastery - in the church. After the French invasion in 1797 the “stift” was ablolished and almost all convent buildings were demolished. Solely the church is prreserved and fortwith serves as parish church for Thorn as Sint-Michaëlskerk . Famous architect Pierre Cuypers from Roermond restored the church at the end of the 19th century. Among other things, Cuypers had the eastern chapels demolished and the neogothic tower raised. The Sint-Michaëlskerk or Abdijkerk is listed in the 'Top 100 of Dutch heritage sites’. The church can be visted at a small fee.

The Kapel onder de Linden (officially the Kapel van O.L.Vrouw van Loreto onder de Linden ) was built in 1673, commissioned by Canon Elisabeth of Manderscheidt-Blanckenheim from the Thorn Abbey . The chapel is a copy of the holy house in Nazareth, which, according to legend, was brought to the Italian town of Loreto by angels during a church persecution. The construction was supervised by master Willem Boyens, city architect of Roermond. In 1811, the chapel was extended westward with a higher section, while the confessional hall was added in 1898. In the interior of the chapel, the baroque stucco decorations from the end of the 17th century, the altar with the beautifully carved oak fence in baroque style and the painted medallions are particularly important. During the French occupation, the chapel was closed for several years. In 1797, the occupying forces decided that all church property would belong to the French state. When the French banned the church and the Catholic religion, the chapel had to be closed. In 1801 it could be used again for Catholic worship. Since its foundation, the chapel has always attracted many devotees of Mary. Processions from the surrounding villages to the chapel are still held to this day. The Kapel onder de Linden is open for visitors.

The oldest part of the Dutch Reformed Church of Uithuizermeeden is dating back to the 13th century. The white walls were plastered in the 19th century. The church tower (Meister Toren) was renewed in 1717, commissioned by Onno Tamminga of Alberda, lord at the nearby Rensumaborg. After a fire at the end of the 19th century the tower was rebuilt in its original form. The remarkable white and blue tower has a height of 48,5 metres. The church has a beautiful interior and a Hinz organ, which was consecrated in 1785.

The Domkerk (St. Martin's Cathedral) was the cathedral of the diocese of Utrecht during the Middle Ages. It once was the largest church and the only cathedral of the Netherlands. The construction of the present church started already in 1254. Since 1580 it is a protestant church. In 1674 a tornado destroyed the part of the church that was connected to the tower and was never rebuild. The Dom tower is with a height of more than 112 meters the highest mediaeval tower in the country. Picture: Dom Church and Dom Tower seen from the cloister (Pandhof) next to the church.

There has been a chapel - first mentioned in 1245 - at this location on the island of Vlieland, which was dedicated to Saint Nicholas. It became a parish church in the late Middle Ages. Later, it was elevated to a parish church. As the village of West-Vlieland gradually became depopulated (see: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/50819386) and the inhabitants moved to Oost-Vlieland, the need arose for a larger building. After the Reformation the chapel was replaced by the present building, using bricks from the demolished chapel. The Nicolaaskerk (Nicholas Church) was built in 1605 as an east-west oriented simple hall church. At that point it was one of the first church buildings in the Netherlands built voor Protestant services. In 1647 the church was extended in the direction of the church square and acquired its current form. The interior of the Nicolaaskerk is famous for the whale jaws that were once used as tombstones, but were brought inside because of the acid rain. Many parts of the church are made of jute wood, like some pews, and a panel of the pulpit once was a door of a ship. The chandeliers were donated by the King of Sweden and Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter, one of the most skilled Dutch admirals in history. (Unfortunately, due to the corona measures, it was not possible for me to visit the interior of the church. We could only catch a glimpse of it from behind a locked glass door.) The last restoration of the - nowadays - only church on Vlieland was in 1997. For a time it was known as Hervormde Kerk , but is now named by its original name, Nicolaaskerk . In addition to services, it serves also as a venue for concerts.

The Stefanuskerk (Church of St. Stephen) is a Gothic church, which was built at the beginning of the 15th century as a Catholic church. The church was dedicated to the martyr Stephen, just like the mother church in Beilen. After the transfer of the church to the Protestant community around 1600, the name was somewhat forgotten. Since 2007, the church has officially been called Stefanuskerk again. The tower of the Stefanuslerk was built earlier. The lower part of the tower is dating back to the 13th century. Later, in 1778, the upper part of the tower was built. The tower has three bells, one of an anonymus bellfounder from early 14th century. The village church of Westerbork has existed for over 800 years. In an old document from 1206, the "capella te Burcht" was already mentioned. It was probably a small wooden chapel, covered with straw. This historical fact was the reason for the Westerbork community to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the village in 2006. Around 1360 the wooden chapel was replaced by a stone church, which was then somewhat smaller than the current church.

The Koepelkerk (Domed Church) is the first church in the Netherlands specially built for Protestant worship and therefore the building became a model for many later Protestant churches. Construction began in 1597 and took ten years. Prince Maurits van Oranje supported the construction of the church with 7000 florins, on condition that it would be built either ound or octagonal shape. The church was built without of chapels and side aisles; not the altar, but the pulpit had to be the centre point. The Koepelkerk was heavily damaged in World War II )November 1944), during artillery shellings of the Allies. Willemstad has rebuilt and restored the church over the years. The church is now used by the PKN Reformed Church and is a national monument.

With less than 900 inhabitants and approx. 350 houses, Wilsum still is a city. It was (probably) already granted city rights by the bishop of Utrecht in 1321. When you visit Wilsum nowadays, you cannot imagine that you are in a city. It looks more like a peaceful country village, nicely situated on the banks of the river IJssel. The only building that reminds you of a town is the imposing Sint-Lambertuskerk (Saint Lambert Church), one of the oldest churches in the province of Overijssel. The church is dating back to the year of 1050, but nothing is known about the original structure. The tower with the nave is the oldest part: they are Romanesque in design and probably date from the 11th century. The church has undergone several changes in its almost 1.000 years of existence. After the Reformation, the church was stripped of its Roman Catholic characteristics. Original there were five Romanesque windows on the north and south sides of the nave, while the east side and the choir were closed. The present Gothic choir was built in the 14th century, against the then lower nave of the church. Major changes were made to the nave in the 15th century. The side walls were raised and vaulted, while the Romanesque windows were replaced by pointed arch windows. During a restoration in 1902, neo-Gothic influences gave the church its current character. During the last restoration of the Sint-Lambertuskerk in 1982 a number of wall paintings - hundreds of years old - were discovered.

Sint Nicolaaskerk (St. Nicholas Church) is an old church whose Romanesque tower dates from 1220. The rest of the church was built in Gothic style against the existing tower around 1400, partly with material - mostly tuff - from a previous smaller church. The church was founded by the Lords of Buckhorst who owned a castle in this area. This castle was demolished in 1841, but the church still contains, among other things, Buckhorst pews and a family tomb. The church was maintained by the descendants of the Buckhorst family until 1838. Over the centuries, the church fell into disrepair. That is why work began on restoring the exterior of the church in 1991. Services are still held in the Sint Nicolaaskerk by the Reformed Congregation Zalk en Veecaten .

The present Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) was built between 1835 and 1848. Nowadays the building is used for (music) performances and expositions.